Resistance training is fundamental to getting in shape and shedding excess weight, yet it’s an area of fitness training that many of us girls steer clear of. Maybe it’s because we are unsure of what to lift and how, or maybe because the weights section of the gym is quite often filled with grunting, sweaty guys posing in the mirror, but what many of us don’t know is that weight training has a plethora of health benefits. Resistance training helps to build muscle, shed fat, strengthen bones and your heart, and works as an amazing stress-reliever.
For Holly Roderick, fitness is a way of life. Having started competing in sport from the age of just 10 years old she has represented her county and country in a vast array of practises, from swimming and hockey to athletics and netball. Her newest love is for Crossfit and weightlifting, something which many girls are quite shy of. Now a semi-professional Welsh women’s weightlifter, Holly talks about how resistance training can benefit your body, mind and self-confidence.
1. When did your love for health and fitness start?
I have taken part in competitive sport for most of my life. From about the age of 10 I competed for Wales in athletics and also represented my county in swimming, hockey, rugby and netball. I also did gymnastics for a short while. I’ve studied a sports degree and took my personal health and fitness to the next level when I finished university in 2013.
2. How often do you train and what do you do?
I train 7 days a week; twice a day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and once a day on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. I train through Crossfit and weightlifting.
3. For those who don’t know, what is Crossfit?
- Cardio: running, swimming, rowing, skipping
- Gymnastics: pull-ups, burpees, toes to bar , ring muscle-ups, bar muscle-ups and sit ups
- Weightlifting: back squats, front squats, over head squats, all shoulder to overhead movements and Olympic lifts including the snatch and the clean and jerk.
4. What sort of foods do you eat to aid your training?
I eat a clean diet of 5 meals a day. All my meals contain carbs, protein and fats. Carbs are key!!
5. What are the benefits of weight training for girls?
Weight training can totally change the shape of a woman’s body and can give her curves and definition in places you didn’t know existed until you build muscle there. I think it also helps confidence and can make women feel equal to men in terms of physical ability. It gives women independence and it’s empowering being fit and strong, because now you can lift all those heavy boxes too! You don’t need a man to help you!
Photo taken from Holly’s Spartan Fit Athletes Page
6. What advice do you have for girls who are looking to tone up for the summer?
My first bit of advice would be don’t think of it as toning up. Think of it as a benefit to your health and wellbeing before thinking about the physical benefits that you will gain. Toning up is a thing of the past. Lift weights to get strong and look amazing. And my biggest bit of advice? Do not be scared to lift heavy weights or be in the weights area of the gym with the men. You belong there too. Strong is the new skinny!
Get lifting ladies!
What are your favourite weight training exercises?
Let me know in the comments below.
welsh girl fit 